اگر با آثار کاستاندا آشنایی ندارید، این کتاب (دومین حلقه ی قدرت) پنجمین کتاب از مجموعه ی ده کتاب است که کارلوس کاستاندا در طول عمر خود به نوشتن آنها اقدام نمود۰ برای آشنایی با جهان بینی ای که او تلاش در بیان آن در این مجموعه ی آثار را داشته، و در زمان خود (دهه های هفتاد تا نود قرن بیستم) بسیار مورد بحث و جنجال در میان روشنفکران معاصر بویژه در دنیای غرب قرار گرفت، بایست از خوانش نخستین کتاب آغاز کرد و به ترتیب انتشار آن به زبان اصلی پیش رفت، تا در جریان سیر تکوینی این نوع جهان بینی عرفانی که بسیار مرموز و جادویی و در عین حال بسیار ساده، طبیعی، واقعی و پذیرفتنی، اما بشدت باورناکردنی است، قرار گرفت. خواندن یک کتاب در میانه ی این مجموعه گرچه خالی از لطف نیست، اما نقاط کور و پرسشهای بی پاسخی را در ذهن برمیانگیزد۰ چرا که اینها همانند درسهایی هستند که با توالی منظمی از سوی استاد عنوان شده اند، و خواندن یک اثر، در میان این مجموعه همانند نشستن در سر کلاس درس در میانه ی سال تحصیلی است، و همانگونه که دکتر فره وشی نیز آورده، این مجموعه را نمیتوان همچون یک رمان در دست گرفت و بلاانقطاع خواند، و به مفهوم مطالب عنوان شده در آن نائل آمد۰ مطالبی که گاه خود نویسنده نیز در فهم آن دچار درگیری است، چرا که نتیجه ی ده سال گزارش (بقول کاستاندا) میدانی است. گزارش کارآموزیهای یک شاگرد (مردمشناس) نزد پیر، مرشد، شمن، مرد معرفت، سالک مبارز و عارف سرخپوستی بنام «دون خوان ماتوس» از قوم «یاکی» در «صحرای سونورا» در مکزیک. مجموعه ی این ده کتاب، به توالی تاریخ انتشار به زبان اصلی که همه به فارسی ترجمه شده به قرار زیر است1-The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968)تعلیمات دون خوان (طریقه ی معرفت نزد یاکی ها)۰ ۱۳۶۵ انتشارات فردوس ـ ترجمه ی حسین نیر2 - A Separate Reality: Further Conversation with Don Juan (1971)حقیقتی دیگر (باز هم گفت و شنودی با دون خوان)۰ ۱۳۶۴ انتشارات آگاه، ترجمه ی ابراهیم مکلا۰3 - Journey to xtlan: Lessons of Don Juan (1972)سفر به ایختلان (سفر به ناکجا آباد ـ درس¬های دون¬خوان) کتاب باعنوان «سفر به دیگر سو» در ایران منتشر شده است۰4- Tales of Power (1974)افسانه های قدرت (نخستین حلقه ی قدرت)۰ ۱۳۶۳ انتشارات فردوس ـ ترجمه ی مهران کندری و مسعود کاظمی۰5- The Second Ring of Power (1975)دومین حلقه ی قدرت ـ چاپ اول ۱۳۶۴ ترجمه ی مهران کندری و مسعود کاظمی6- The Eagle's Gift (1981)هدیه ی عقاب ـ ۱۳۶۵ ترجمه ی مهران کندری و مسعود کاظمی7- The Fire from Within (1984)آتش درون ـ ۱۳۶۸ ترجمه ی مهران کندری و مسعود کاظمی8-The Power of Silence, Further Lessons of don Juan (1988)قدرت سکوت ـ ۱۳۶۸ ترجمه ی مهران کندری 9- The Art of Dreaming (1994)هنر خواب بینی ـ ۱۳۷۴ ترجمه ی فرزاد همدانی10- The Active Side of Infinity (1998)کرانه ی فعال بیکرانگی ـ ۱۳۷۹ ترجمه ی مهران کندری
This obscure writer has a huge cult following who believe that Castaneda's semi-fictious stories about Don Juan and the indigenous peoples of Mexico hold the keys to power and enlightenment. Ninja is a skeptic. She doesn’t believe in any of that rot – but they are best books being peddled as non-fiction that I have ever read.Years ago, I caught an edition of “Imprint” on our local public television station TVO. The host, Daniel Richler, was leading a panel discussion about native spirituality and its literature. At one point during the discussion Richler held up a copy of Carlos Castaneda’s first book The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. He said with great confidence and certainty that Castaneda’s works about the Yaqui Indians of Mexico represented the greatest hoax since the Piltdown Man. With that, he seemed to dismiss the book out of hand. I had already, if truth be known, dismissed Castaneda as a new age phony long ago so I too moved right along with Richler to the next item of discussion. I was surprised then when one of the panel members, Medicine Grizzly Bear Adams, brought the discussion back to Castaneda. He said that Castaneda must have really been trained under a traditional man of knowledge, (as Castaneda referred to don Juan). Otherwise,Adams insisted, he must be “one of the greatest philosophers or genius’ of your time…” to be able to synthesize the information he presents in his books from his sources, whatever they may be.That made me revisit the body of work Castaneda wrote, and since then I have read all the books about his so called tutelage under the nagual, Don Juan. They are most entertaining and thought provoking and many quotes from the book have come down to us into the popular culture. The most well-known of these is has come down as something in the form of following a path with heart.“…a warrior must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if he feels that he should not follow it, he must not stay with it under any conditions. His decision to keep on that path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. He must look at every path closely and deliberately. There is a question that a warrior has to ask: ‘Does this path have a heart?’”There are many more gems like this in the books. He was a spiritual genius. Whether or not he made it up, he weaved the work into a self-contained reality in its own right.
Every Seeker has at some point experienced an unexplainable moment. These are great opportunities to expand your perceptions to begin to believe in something greater then yourself that cannot be explained by your culture, current beliefs or family. Any of Carlos Castanada's books will give you the opportunity to discover another perspective about what reality really is. For those who call themselves Seekers - looking for the meaning of life - this is a foundational book. This was the first book I read that started me on the path to greater consciousness. I cried, I laughed and I journeyed deeply into the heart of this incredible mystic; with him into the meaning of and purpose of life. I found many answers to my questions and was very inspired by Carlos Castaneda to continue my search even deeper into the mysteries of the human spirit and mind. I thank him as a student would thank a teacher with deep love and gratitude for his contribution to greater consciousness for us all.
—Pamela Wells
This book was recommended to me a few years ago by a professor of mine. I was deep into graduate school by then, attempting to earn my MFA while not losing my mind. My work as well and my mental state were suffering.My professor told me I needed to learn how to see. And this book would show me how.And it did. It helped tremendously. I did not approach the book as an anthropologist. Nor did I approach it as a study of any kind. I had no prior knowledge of Castaneda or any of the controversy his books caused. For all I knew, it was just a story. The library copy I checked out didn't even have a jacket. I loved this book and have gone on to read others by Castaneda. None, however, have been quite as memorable as this one. My only advice is you proceed with an open mind. And be willing to think about the questions and ideas in an abstract way.
—Emily
A young anthropologist goes into the desert, meets an old shaman and does a bunch of peyote, DMT/salvia, and shrooms. This book is his account from one trip to another with bits of hippy-wisdom thrown in, like the oft-quoted "ask yourself if this path has a heart" passage. Beyond the tripping, the author doesn't seem to understand the spiritual aspects of what Don Juan is trying to tell him. Like when he smoked the "little smoke" and thought himself to become a bird, he asks Don Juan afterwards "did I really become a bird?" and needles him to give him an objective answer, which, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of the whole experience.At the end of the book, Carlos Casteneda breaks down Don Jaun's belief system in a very scientific yet oddly dogmatic kind of way, like a pastor of a newly found, but no-longer-sacred religion. By explaining it away he kills the mystical sense of his time in the desert and reduces it to nicely categorized names and departments; further nullifying his narrative to a simple hallucinogenic induced party time with an old Yaqui Indian man in New Mexico, all under the guise of his "Warrior's Way". His assessment of his time with Don Juan only go as deep as his literal understanding of things, rather than any meaningful, metaphorical reflection of his "teaching". I couldn't decide if he's either really dense or just too westernized to see anything beyond his daily comprehension.
—Adam
